ABB expands its partnership with Northvolt to provide power for the world's largest battery recycling facility.
ABB will provide electrification solutions for Northvolt's new battery recycling plant Revolt Ett in Sweden. The factory will eventually handle 125,000 tons of discarded batteries and battery production waste every year, which is the largest in the world. Northvolt is a long-term partner of ABB, and its goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of its batteries by about 90% compared with the current industry level by 2030. ABB and Northvolt are further strengthening their long-term cooperation in the field of green batteries, which is an increasingly important part of the current energy transformation. Since 2017, ABB has provided key electrification and automation equipment for the Swedish Northvolt Ett lithium-ion battery super factory. This partnership has now expanded to include battery recycling, and ABB provides process electrification to power Revolt Ett, the world's largest battery recycling facility, which was established by Northvolt in Sherefteo, northern Sweden. Financial details were not disclosed. The order was booked in the first quarter of 2023. Revolt Ett Recycling Station will eventually handle 125,000 tons of discarded batteries and battery production waste every year, making it the largest factory of its kind in the world. It will serve the Northvolt Super Factory located in the same location, which will put one production block into production in 2022, and other production blocks will be established to achieve an annual production capacity of 60 GWh. Northvolt provides a series of lithium-ion batteries for the automotive, industrial and large-scale energy storage industries to support the global energy transformation. The manufacturer is consistent with the data of the World Economic Forum, which shows that the demand for batteries is expected to increase 14 times by 2030 due to the adoption of electric vehicles.
ABB will provide the facility with switchgear and variable speed drives, which will match the speed of the process in the factory and increase and decrease the power as needed, thus saving energy, improving performance and reducing maintenance. The facility is a key part of Northvolt's sustainable development goal and will start operation in 2023. The company plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its batteries to 10 kg CO 2 e per kWh by 2030, while the industry reference value is 98 kg CO 2 e per kWh. Northvolt Ett is powered by 100% fossil-free energy, which is the key to achieve this goal. Emma Nehrenheim, chief environmental officer of Northvolt, said: "Battery is a key technology in energy transformation." "But with the rapid growth of battery demand, we must ensure the solution of recycling batteries and ensure the reliable and sustainable supply of key minerals. This new factory Revolt Ett will help us achieve these two goals, because we are working hard to achieve the mission of building the world's most environmentally friendly battery. " As more and more batteries in the market reach the service life, by 2030, the battery material recycling and hydrometallurgy (Hydrmet) process of Revolt Ett is expected to meet 50% of the raw material demand of Northvolt Ett for lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. By that time, Northvolt aims to have an annual production capacity of 150 GWh in its business in Sweden and Germany. "This is the first order received by ABB in the field of battery recycling with strategic significance," said Staffan Södergård, manager of battery manufacturing business department of ABB process industry. "Working with Northvolt's trusted partners, this project provides us with the opportunity to help our customers avoid carbon emissions, reuse materials and protect key supply chains. We look forward to its progress. " The Northvolt Ett Battery Super Factory is located near the port of Sherefteo in northern Sweden. Northvolt is a European supplier of high-quality batteries and systems. The purpose of its establishment is to help Europe transition to a decarbonized future. Its mission is to provide the world's most environmentally friendly lithium-ion batteries with the smallest CO 2 footprint. ABB became a partner of Northvolt in 2017 since its R&D park in Westeros, Sweden was established. Since then, ABB has also invested in Northvolt through ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), the venture capital department of ABB Group. ABB has always been a long-term partner in the field of electrification and automation. Recently, Northvolt chose ABB's factory optimization method to help fast track the project implementation by integrating electrification, instrumentation, control and digitization (EICD) solutions, so as to achieve efficient start-up and operation.